Porch Pirates
by dreemseeker
Summary: Stephanie calls Ranger in to solve Grandma Mazur's problem. A quick story, my Christmas gift to you. ;) Established Relationships. Babe HEA
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimer. Character not mine. :)

.oOo.

Porch Pirates

Chapter One

.oOo.

The rain never let up the whole day and I was soaked to the skin by the time my rusty bucket of a car rolled into the parking lot behind my apartment. December always looked so dead, I thought, trudging up the stairs. Gray and muddy, and dead.

As dead as the business at Vinnie's, I thought with a bit of a pout. I guess December is not a great month for FTA's or any bonding at all for that matter. Just this morning Connie had mentioned that there had been no new cases in weeks. That was really bad news for me. We are just a week away from Christmas and my funds have dried up.

I was digging in my big bag for my keys when Mrs. Baumgarten walked up to me with a plate wrapped in yards of cellophane with a big red bow on top.

"Merry Christmas Stephanie," she said with a smile, handing the heavy plate to me. "I hope you are not spending the holidays alone," she added, looking pointedly at the door of my apartment that she knew I didn't share with anyone. I tried to smile at her, I hope it was a smile. But that was all I needed, another burg lady judging my single status and finding me lacking. Again.

Balancing the plate in one hand, I slipped the key into the lock and pushed my door open. "Thanks for the goodies Mrs. Baumgarten," I said quickly, "It was really so nice of you to think of me."

There was nothing wrong with my training in burg manners, my mother would have been proud. And now, thanks to my smooth moves, I was safely on the other side of the door. Keeping in line with those manners, I kept talking, I certainly did not want to be rude. Slowly I closed the door, waving and saying goodbye as Mrs Baumgarten stared at me from out in the hall.

Okay, it wasn't perfect, and once again, I'm sure that my social graces, fell short of what my mother would have expected for a nice neighbor sharing some holiday cheer. But really, how much could I take today?

Rex poked his head out when he heard me. I was empty handed, except for the plate from Mrs. Baumgarten, so I pulled the wrappings away to see what she had inside. Fruitcake. Wow, I had not expected that, who even eats fruitcake anymore? Taking a small chunk that looked like it had a raisin in with it, I dropped it into the aquarium.

At first Rex just stared at it. Then he circled around it, sniffing and poking at it with his nose. Then he looked up at me, his dark little eyes questioning me. "Yeah, sorry about that," I told him as he backed into his can, leaving the offensive morsel behind.

To save face with my roommate, I put everything down and rummaged around in the fridge. Finding a grape that looked to be in decent condition, I removed the fruitcake, replacing it with the peace offering. He would be so much easier to live with when he was not upset with me. Laughing at my own little joke, I made my way into the bathroom where I stripped off my wet clothing and stepped into a nice warm shower.

Just as I turned off the water, I heard the phone ringing. It stopped, only to start ringing again. Hurriedly, I dried off and grabbed my robe, running to the phone only to miss it. The answering machine started blinking with a new message just as the phone rang again. This time I was close enough to answer it and I quickly grabbed it up. "Stephanie, Stephanie is that you?" Grandma Mazur was yelling into the phone, and I could hear all kinds of noise behind her.

"Yes, it's me grandma," I said, raising my voice too, so that I could be heard. "What's going on?" I asked her.

"You have to come quickly," she said, "We have a problem, a big problem. Everyone is so upset. We need your help."

The phone disconnected. Grandma didn't ever wait around for an answer, she just expected that her problems were as important to everyone else as they were to her, and that we would jump to help her out. And truthfully that philosophy seemed to work really well for her.

It only took me ten minutes to get dressed and then I was back out in the rain, heading over to the house she shared with my parents. All the way I tried to guess what had grandma so worked up this time. Its not like she ever had really bad problems, they just seemed bad to her. All my worries were usually for nothing, as the problems were easily taken care of once we found out what was going on.

I was confident that it would be the same this time too. And since I was over there anyway, maybe I would have a great excuse to stay and grab some dinner. No matter what mom was making today, it beat the heck out of having another peanut butter and olive sandwich. And since my cupboards were getting so bare with the lack of FTA's to bring in lately, its all I had available right now.

Yes, dinner sounded good, so I was happy as I drove up to the house, ready to set my grandmother's fears at ease and transition right into meal time. The second I turned off the engine, however, people started pouring out of the house. Grandma led them over to me, tapping on my window, and motioning for me to get out.

"Grandma," I said, squeezing out of the limited space that she allowed for me to open the door. "What are all these people doing here?

She now had her hands on her hips and her face was as pink as the velour running suit that she was wearing. "Pirates!" she yelled, the word being echoed by those standing behind her.

Pirates?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Porch pirates," Grandma said, her voice rising to be heard over all of the neighbors who had come to surround the car. They were all talking at the same time, each telling their own stories of woe, but I could not really hear any one of them very well.

"Stop," I said, as loudly as I dared, I didn't want to upset anyone more than they already were. "Can we take this inside, out of the rain?" I asked, trying to push my way to the front porch. Grandma nodded and motioned for everyone to follow and we filed into my parents living room.

My mother was in the kitchen, and dinner smelled great, so I resolved again to listen to the problems that grandma and her friends had, so that I would have the excuse I needed to be here when mom was ready to put the food on the table.

Grandma stepped close to me and poked her bony finger into my shoulder to emphasize each word she spoke. "There are porch pirates, and they are stealing our packages, right off of our stoops."

Again the rest of the crowd started adding their observations and complaints. And fortunately, this time Grandma was the one to turn and hush them. "Let's tell her what we know," she said, pulling Lois Kerney over and pointing at her with both hands like Vanna White. "Tell her what you saw Lois," she said,

Mrs. Kerney didn't miss a beat, she started telling her tale as fast as she could. I was amazed that we could all understand every word that she said.

"My son was sending me some Christmas gifts, He called and told me to look out for the box that would be coming soon. I stayed close by my window every day after that, I didn't want to miss it, I was so excited that I would be able to put the packages under my tree, you see. And then the trucks started coming. Up and down the road I would see the big brown ones, you know the ones I mean, and there were others too, white vans, they were much smaller, even the green and yellow one was just a van." She took a breath, and I think we all did the same.

"I saw them," she said.

"You saw them?" I asked. "You saw the porch pirates?" It sounded stranger than I thought it would to say those words, but that is what Grandma had called them. "Then you know who they are?" I asked the lady.

Mrs. Kerney was nodding, and then she started to shake her head. I, however, was the only one confused. Everyone else stood firm, agreeing with everything that was being said. Apparently, I was missing something big. So I waited for them to explain.

My mother's immediate neighbor, Mabel Markowitz, was the one to step forward. Very slowly she explained it to me, as if I was still the six year old little girl she knew from next door.

"We have seen them, at least their car, I mean," she said, looking around the group for confirmation of her statement. "They follow the delivery trucks to see where the packages are delivered. Then they disappear. But before we have a chance to pick up the packages from our porches, someone has already come by and grabbed them."

Heads were nodding, and looks of frustration were mixed with the anger these poor people felt. I was in full agreement, this was not fair. No one should have their stuff stolen right from off of their own porches. But I did not see how I could help them out.

I thought that maybe we could set up a neighborhood watch thing, but I immediately vetoed suggesting that idea. Most of the neighbors could not clearly see more than 10 feet away, and with the exception of Mrs Kerney, most of them would probably not even be able to tell a UPS truck from my little Honda Civic.

That is probably one of the reasons that I got this call and not the cops. They had no real evidence that they could give them. So, even though they all thought that I was dating a cop, which I'm not and haven't been for a very long time, there was no way I would be calling Morelli to help them out.

Grandma must have been able to see the gears turning in my head, but she had an idea and took this opportunity to speak up. "We thought your friends could do something," she said. "You know the ones that come around sometimes, and are all dressed in black."

She had obviously shared this idea with the others because suddenly everyone was closing in on me, nodding and smiling hopefully. I held my hand up to stop them, and pushed my way around the crowd to get to the phone.

Mom gave me a sympathetic smile when I walked into the kitchen. I shrugged. It could get crazy around here, and I was kind of glad that I didn't get the brunt of it like she did. I imagine that she had seen it all, and yet, here she was, keeping the routine going. Maintaining some sanity in my grandmother's often insane world. Mom was a trooper.

The phone only rang once before it was picked up by one of the guys that works for Ranger. I think it sounded like Woody, he has this accent that always makes me smile, and as long as he doesn't call me ma'am I'm good.

I asked to speak to Ranger and the call was immediately transferred. It was silent for a moment, I think that I started holding my breath in anticipation. Even his voice can do some intense things to my stomach, but no matter how much I tried to brace myself, it was never enough.

"Babe," Ranger said, tangling up my nerves and making me sweat. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to remember to breathe before I passed out, and I was pretty sure that he was laughing on the other end of the line. Or at least smiling.

"Are you busy?" I asked, not wanting to interrupt anything important.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, and I told him. He was silent for a beat and then told me to come in to his office so that we could make a plan.

Turns out that being in the security business, he had actually heard about the porch pirates. And this was just the excuse he needed to expand on some plans that he'd had to catch them. When I got to his building, Ranger was waiting for me. He had Hector and Silvio with him, with a pile of boxes.

"So, here's the deal," he said. "Hector has rigged each of these boxes with tracking devices and a little surprise for our pirate friends."

Hector had a grin on his face, and I knew he was having fun with this assignment. I like Hector, we don't always speak the same language, but we think a lot alike. I wasn't quite sure if that was something that should worry me or not, but I smiled back at him and gave him a fist bump.

Silvio had some complicated looking machines with blips and beeps and lights that showed up on several screens with maps. He explained that he could follow the trackers from about one hundred yards. He would be coming out to the burg to get set up before we put out the traps.

As I helped Ranger load the boxes into a van that looked an awful lot like a FedEx truck, the guys helped Silvio load his monitors in one of their nondescript black SUVs. I looked around. Grandma may have had the best idea ever when she suggested that I call Ranger in on this. No one was better.

"Ready to go?" Ranger asked me. He put his hand on my back to guide me to his car, and without even trying, Ranger ignited all kinds of fireworks inside of me. I had instantly become incapable of speaking, so I nodded my head. Miraculously my legs started moving and I made it to the Porsche without embarrassing myself.

"Babe," Ranger said, surprising me again that he seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.

No, I thought. There was no one better than Ranger!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I had sent all of Grandma's friends home before I left for Ranger's. They had strict instructions to wait for us to call them before they tried anything else. But when we turned the corner, I could see several of them hanging out near the road. And as we got closer, I noticed that that most of them were back at my parents house.

Grandma came running out and headed straight to the car. Seeing the guys pulling up behind us brought a big grin to her face. I noticed that Ranger swallowed hard, and I am pretty sure that he was remembering last time my grandmother was within arms reach of him. Not wanting to be too obvious, I hid my giggle in a cough as we exited the car.

Intercepting Grandma, I asked her what everyone was doing here. Trying to be tough, I gave her the 'look' but it didn't seem to phase her at all, I really didn't expect it to.

"Oh good, you brought the reinforcements!" she said. Ranger nodded slightly in her direction, and without a word, he herded everyone into the house.

Once inside, he commanded their attention as he explained the plan. I had to admit, he was precise and economical in his wording, just like I have always known him to be. Nothing had been left out, but I could see that Grandma's friends wanted a bit more. And just as soon as he stopped speaking, the questions started.

Ranger remained standing statue still, and no one noticed the signal. Right on cue, Silvio stepped forward to answer all of their questions about the technical details. I was actually impressed that they had come up with such great questions. It showed that they had been following the plan better than I had expected them to, at least that was what I thought, until one of them spoke up.

"No, no," said old Mr Kruzak. He kind of shuffled to the front of the group, and was holding up a grocery bag. "We want to know if we can leave a few surprises of our own in those packages."

Other voices joined with his and out of nowhere there were all kinds of bags being shoved at Silvio and Hector. The guys looked a little bit ill, something that I had never seen before, and it hit me. These questions had not been for their own understanding, these old people just wanted to see that they got to do what they wanted to.

"Grandma," I asked, looking her in the eye. "What is in those bags?"

She shuffled her dentures around in her mouth for a moment before she gave me a side way glance. Then she stood as tall as she could get and squared her shoulders.

"We put a few surprises in those bags," she said. Then I saw the gleam in her eyes. "We just thought that the stinking pirates need to know that they better never come back here to our neighborhood. Ever again."

The grins and nods of everyone made me even more suspicious. But Ranger asked the next question before I got the chance.

"Tell me about the surprises," he said in his deep no nonsense voice.

Once again grandma was the one to answer. "Well, there are some old clothes in some of the bags," she said. Ranger gave her a look and she continued. "And there might be some rocks too."

For a moment, she stared her feet, and then she looked up and proudly said, "And in every one of those bags we added a little treat. Betty here had some rotting potatoes in her cellar, so we packed some of them up in old Tupperware containers."

"That will be a smell that they won't soon forget," Betty said. "It'll serve 'em right!"

Her defiant attitude had Ranger fighting a smile. I guess I couldn't blame them, these people had been pretty upset when their stuff had been stolen away, and this was one way to get back at the bad guys. I got it.

"Hector," Ranger said, "Can you include some of these bags in our decoy boxes?"

A whoop went up and everyone was cheering as Hector nodded and started gathering up the bags still being handed over to him. Grandma was standing there with a proud look on her face. Yep, I thought, she was the hero of the day for bringing Ranger and his guys in on this. And she was going to enjoy every second of the fun.

I hated to ruin it for her, but I really did have to send everybody home now. Ranger and Silvio gave them strict instructions to stay inside and out of sight for the next two days. And I think that they actually listened to them. Now that they got their contributions added to operation catch the pirates, they were happy. And they were happy to leave the rest up to Ranger.

Of course, Ranger wasted no time in getting started. Hector grabbed his big bag of tools and equipment and headed out. In just a few hours, he had surveillance cameras hidden on all of the porches we were going to be using.

After directing Silvio as he pulled the van into the garage, so that it would be ready to go in the morning. Grandma shut the garage door and followed him out to the black truck. She watched in awe as Silvio helped Hector to get all the connections hooked up, and one by one the view of the porches showed up on the bank of monitors in the large SUV.

This was as much as we were going to do today, and we started packing things up to leave. Just in time, though, mom came out and invited me and the guys to stay for dinner. Score for me, that is exactly what I had been hoping for, I just wasn't sure what they would say. But without hesitation, Ranger was gracious and accepted the invitation. He knew the burg manners too, you don't refuse an invitation to dinner around here.

All of us were soon situated around the table. Mom had outdone herself tonight, Not only had she whipped up a roast with onions and carrots and potatoes that I love, she had chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes with gravy. I couldn't wait to eat!

Between bites, Grandma kept the guys talking by shooting one question after another at them. Mostly they were all about the operation she had been instrumental in starting, and Silvio answered most of them. Hector nodded a lot and Ranger seemed content to sit back and watch the show.

It was when some personal questions popped up and I was worried that Grandma may have gone too far. Again, I was amazed by Ranger. He was the one to speak up now, and I learned more about his personal life in next three minutes than I had ever known before.

Some of those strange feelings in my stomach started again. Ranger had always had that affect on me. A fact, that sent me soaring to heights I could only have dreamed of, and annoyed Morelli out of his mind. I was off again with Joe, permanently. Mostly because of his attitude toward Ranger. I don't think that I have actually shared that little tidbit of information with Ranger yet. I figure that he knows, he knows everything. And part of me wonders, if he did know, all this time, did it make any difference to him? If he knows that Joe has been out of my life for a good five months now, is he going to ever do anything about it?

While I was busy with my internal monologue, the conversation had taken yet another turn, and it was my father who was now talking about his own military experiences. Amazingly, the men at the table all seemed to have a lot in common, and they told stories until mom brought out desert. Everyone stopped and stared. I was speechless too, it looked magnificent.

"I thought I would try my hand at making a Trifle," she said with a non-nonchalant shrug. We could see the layers of fruit and cream and cake through the bowl, and I could hardly wait to try it. Mom served it into small dishes, and while we all did our best to get ready for seconds, I noticed that even Ranger ate the fruit from his.

We left, with Grandma and mom standing at the door watching the cars disappear down the street. I settled into the seat and glanced over at Ranger. This had been the most unusual day. I almost didn't want it to end. It had been a while since I had spent much time with Ranger and I had really missed him. If I could, I wanted to find some way to linger a little bit longer with him. But I knew that it wouldn't be long until he dropped me off at my apartment.

His eyes were still on the road when Ranger spoke up.

"Just wait until tomorrow, I think we are all in for some surprises," he said.

How did he always do that?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

During the holiday season, especially the week before Christmas, delivery trucks were always out bright and early in the morning. That meant, of course, that I was pulling myself out of bed, before the sun was even up, so that I could meet Ranger and the guys at my parents house to help put the operation into play.

This was no easy feat, as I had been awake with visions of Ranger dancing in my head all night long. It's what happens to me when I spend any amount of time with him. I want to blame it on my hormones, but I think that the problem is much worse than that. I think that I am in love with Ranger. Not that I could ever tell him that. Probably it would make things really weird between us, and I don't want to do anything that would make him completely avoid me.

This is my own little secret. I won't even be telling Mary Lou, because I know exactly what she will say. And I don't need anyone telling me that the only person that can get hurt, in this one sided relationship, is me. I shrug it off, it what it is, and I think that it would hurt worse to never see him again than it would to just keep my feelings to myself. Anyway, its a risk that I am willing to take if it means that I can still be his friend.

I am going to attribute these melodramatic thoughts to the fact that I am running on no sleep. But no matter how tired I am, I wouldn't trade those dreams I had for anything. I'll need them when I go through the next dry spell and I don't get to see him every day, for weeks at a time.

A quick shower to shock myself awake, and I was out of the door. Ranger was going to meet me at mom's, and I wanted to at least be there when he arrived. Ranger was always on time. That was something that amazed me and maybe irritated me all at the same time. I'll never know how he seems to always be exactly were he needs to be, at the right moment. Its quite the trick.

I pull up right behind him and we get out of our cars together.

"Babe," he said, and I take it to mean' good morning, and glad to see that you could drag yourself out of bed for the occasion'. I smirk a little, I might be getting good at this interpreting Ranger thing. The thought makes me happy.

Grandma is on the porch bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited for us, and Ranger puts his hand at the small of my back as we walk up to the house. The sensations playing through my whole body, at his touch, almost made it impossible for me to keep any thoughts in my head, but I was able to greet Grandma with the appropriate words, I think.

Or maybe not, because this time when Ranger said 'Babe' it sounded more like he meant 'you are speaking out loud again'. I wish I could stop doing that, but he has a way of short circuiting my brain every time I am near him. I needed a distraction, any distraction, and quick, or my brain might shut down completely.

It was a good thing that Grandma and a couple of her friends were waiting for us. They wanted to be right here at 'ground zero' for the big event. Silvio walked in followed by Hector, and Woody who was dressed in a uniform to be the delivery guy. They waved at me as they slipped out the back to head to the garage. The deliveries would start any minute now, and Silvio would be relaying information to us from his set up in the back of the SUV that would be following the van.

With binoculars at the ready, Grandma staked her claim at the window to get a front row seat of the action. I had to laugh, she was taking this very seriously, and I knew that she was loving to be the center of attention with her friends.

Ranger pulled me over to sit next to him on the couch. His earpiece was in place and he was listening to everything that the guys were saying. He took my hand, "Delivery number one is done, package is on the porch." I nodded, fortunatlry I didn't need to say anything, as Grandma took over that.

"Oh, oh, oh," Grandma said, pointing with one hand out the window and still holding the binoculars to her eyes with the other.

It was Mrs. Gritch that gave the play by play as she could see it through her binoculars. "Here they come," she said. "That is the car we saw before, I am sure of it." She took in a sharp breath, I could tell that she was getting angry. "And, can you believe it, the little jerk is running up to the porch, and, unnh," getting too close the the window, the binoculars hit her in the face, but she recovered and kept on talking, and I was amazed by the precise details she listed off.

"I estimate that the stupid jerk is about five foot nine, and weighs in under a hundred sixty pounds, the little pip squeak. Brown hair under the hoodie is long, about chin length and looks curly. Barely any facial hair, so probably he's a teenager. Feet are huge, size twelve I'd say."

Ranger raised one eyebrow, he was getting the same details from the commentary by Silvio. Maybe a neighborhood watch idea hadn't been as far off as I had thought. She kept the details going as the kid raced back to the car with the box and jumped into the passenger side. The make, model, and license plate number were all very calmly reported. A complete report that any police officer would be happy to have had.

We both looked up in surprise as both Mrs Gritch and grandma burst out laughing.

"Wish I could see their faces when they open that package," Grandma said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!" Mrs Gritch, still chuckling as she moved away from the window and sat down on a chair. She looked content, smug even. I reminded myself that these older people had every right to get their justice, and it would feel pretty damn good to see it happening.

Ranger held up his finger. I guessed that Silvio must be saying something important, so I waited.

"The tracker is activated and they are following the car. Looks like they are heading to the next porch," Ranger said. "He hesitated, and then looked right at me.

"These guys are good, not your average grab and go thieves," he stated. "They are following the trucks and watching to see where the packages are being delivered," he said, barely shaking his head. "They are already at the next porch, taking another box."

"So that way, the packages are lifted from the porches before anyone can get to the door after the delivery is made?" I asked. "Isn't that risky, someone could open the door and see them."

Ranger seemed reluctant to answer that question, though I had no doubt he had a few thoughts about the whole thing. It puzzled me for a second, until Grandma stepped over and said the words that Ranger probably didn't want to say out loud in this company.

"The little twerps are targeting this neighborhood because most of us are old, and we are not as fast as we once were," she said, her voice dripping with disgust. "They are not worried about beating us to the porch, they are young and fast." She turned to me, "Not much of a risk, and they know it, the cowards, it doesn't take any balls to steal from the elderly, but it takes a slime ball to lower themselves to do it."

I noticed Ranger nodded, ever so slightly. He agreed, and he hadn't had to be the one to say the obvious. He would see these pirates as the lowest of scum, preying on anyone who was weaker than them. Ranger may have had his own set of rules and standards, but I knew that he hated it when people were so dishonorable. I smiled, I liked that about Ranger.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

An hour later, seven packages had been lifted, and Silvio was tracking the car with the thieves. Ranger and I were sitting at the dining room table with Grandma, Mrs. Gritch and my mother, who had insisted that we take a little break for something to eat.

Ever the burg hostess, she had planned a nice little breakfast feast with a fruit tray and a basket of freshly baked muffins. I had to be impressed, mom is the quintessential hostess, and she gets to know her guests and their needs.

For me, coffee to keep me alert. For Ranger, fruit was the right choice, and for the ladies, the muffins were not only a great breakfast, but a conversation piece to keep them distracted as we all waited to hear more from Silvio and Hector.

"Newark," Ranger suddenly said. We all looked at him. "The car stopped in a neighborhood in Newark."

"What do we do now?" Grandma asked. "Are you going to storm the place, and take those buggers down?" She and Mrs Gritch looked at each other and then at Ranger. Their faces showed the hope that some severe justice was going to be served up to those low life creeps.

"Technically, they stole our goods, so we have the right to at least question them," Ranger said. "The police would need a search warrant for that," he said. "But security and bondsmen don't," he said that looking at me, including me in his explanation. I felt that it made what I do seem a bit more legitimate to my mother, and I couldn't have been happier that he did that for me. "Not if we have reason to believe that our property or our suspects are inside," he continued.

Now we all wanted to know what was going to happen. Our attention was on Ranger. He must have been listening to Silvio, because he stopped talking and was very still. Sometimes he gets into a zone and doesn't move a muscle for hours, I have never known how he does that, but right now, he didn't need to be in a zone, so I had to wait with everyone else to know what he was finding out.

I am not the most patient person. After I gulped down the last of my coffee, I had nothing else to do. Under the table, my leg started bouncing up and down, and I may have accidentally bumped into Ranger, because the next thing I knew, he put his hand on my knee to stop the bouncing.

It worked, I froze. His touch always does incredible things to me, and this time was no exception. Heat flushed through my body, and suddenly I forgot how to breathe. His hand gave my knee a little squeeze and moved away. I missed the contact immediately, but at least I was able to take a badly needed breath. When I dared steal a glance at him, he was looking at me. The corner of his mouth twitched. It was almost a smile and I suspected that he knew exactly what he did to me.

That realization made me stop and have a small conversation with myself. If I know what he does to me, and he knows what he does to me, and we both seem to like it, then why don't we do anything about it? It seemed like a perfectly reasonable question. Only I just did not have an answer for it.

On one hand, I was not currently in a relationship, in any sense of the word, and had not been for a very long time now. So it was not as if my interest in Ranger could be construed as a rebound after leaving Joe or anything. I could conclude that our reaction to each other was the natural course of things.

On the other hand, Ranger had once said that he does not do relationships. I could quote the excuses he had come up with time and time again. Starting with his life was too dangerous, all the way to the ridiculous condom instead of a ring statement. I had nearly gagged when he had said that. Puleaze! How did he even let these kinds of words exit his mouth.

My distaste for the lame reasons he had given made me wonder if there was any way I could change his mind. He seemed set in his ways. But the fact that those ways included some mind blowing kisses made me want to find some way to open up the possibility that we could be together.

If my reaction to him was any indication, we had a strong connection, and that could mean that there could be something more significant between us someday, didn't it?

"Babe?" Ranger was looking at me again, but it didn't seem like he had heard my thoughts, so at least I don't think I had said any of that out loud. Thank goodness! But I had obviously missed something. I blinked a few times, trying to find a way to ask him to repeat what he had said without sounding too lame.

"Are you coming with us?" Grandma asked. "Come on, the guys are back with the van, and Ranger said that we can listen to everything that is going down in Newark," she said as she nearly ran to the door.

"It might be a little bit crowded," Ranger said, indicating Grandma and Mrs Gritch who had practically raced other out of the house. "Woody has audio from Silvio and the team that followed the thieves to Newark. It should be interesting," he said, holding his hand out to me.

"Yeah, right, lets go," I said, as if I hadn't just zoned everything out with my internal musings. I grabbed his hand, bracing myself for the intense current that would zap through my arm to the rest of my body. The jolt hit and I closed my eyes for just a moment. I was getting to really like this feeling.

Before we got far, mom caught up with us and shoved a plate and a coffee mug in my hands. "See if the man in the van would like something to eat," she said, ever the hostess. But it was a good idea and a nice thing to do, so I smiled and thanked her and we hurried out to the driveway.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A crowd was gathering around the van by the time we got outside, but they parted to give us a path up to the back that had the doors flung wide open. Woody looked up when we climbed in and indicated the jump seats that we could pull down so that we could sit. Ranger took care of the seats while I handed the food to Woody. His eyes showed surprise, and then he smiled. "Thanks," he said.

"From my mom," I told him, glad that he appreciated it, but not wanting to take the credit for the gesture that I really should have thought of myself.

Ranger pulled me back to sit next to him and we all concentrated on the voices coming from the speakers of the van. Woody had turned it way up, so that everyone could hear.

Silvio was talking, detailing everything about the house, and the activity of the thieves. The two they had followed out to Newark joined at least two more people when they got inside the house. It was too bad that we had no surveillance inside of the house. Our equipment was limited to the boxes, and they were still in the car.

Moments later, the garage door opened and the driver came out, jumping into the car and backing it into the big empty garage. As the doors were closing, Mrs Gritch made an observation. She was one sharp gal, not missing a thing.

"No one lives here," she said. "No one has a garage so completely empty, especially not people who end up with lots of things that they've stolen but may not want." She shrugged, an action that I found a bit adorable at her age. "They have to keep stuff somewhere until they sell or pawn it, and that someplace is often in the garage."

Woody had been tapping rapidly on his keyboard and started nodding. He never turned around, but he addressed his comments to Mrs Gritch. "The house _is_ vacant ma'am," he said, appreciation for her attention to details evident in his voice. The bank info was displayed on his screen. "Foreclosure notice means that the bank will hire someone to list the property, but without an anxious seller on their tails, most Realtors won't be paying much attention to a place like this, especially one in a neighborhood that is so badly in need of revitalization."

Ranger got up and stood behind Woody, stooping over to look at the screen. Whatever he saw there seemed to hold his interest for a few minutes.

"Bet they'll be gone by tomorrow," Ranger said. "If we're going to make a move, it might as well be sooner than later," he said. Woody glanced up, exchanging a meaningful look with him. I got the feeling that things were about to get a little bit exciting.

The same feeling must have been felt by everyone standing around the van, because they all started talking at once. Grandma raised her hand and shushed them, she did not want to miss a thing. Amazingly the noise stopped immediately and we all waited. Then we heard it.

The speakers picked up people yelling. "Oh, my G... ack," a guys voice said.

"What the... oh," another deeper voice was heard. "What the hell is this?"

What sounded like gagging sounds came next, and I heard the snickers behind me.

"Out, get out," someone said, and we heard the rustle and footsteps.

Ranger turned to Grandma and the crowd with her. He allowed a bit of a smile. "We can hear all of this through Hector's microphone," he said. "He snuck up to the house and was next to the window when the thieves started opening the boxes."

There were some guffaws and some high-fiving going on with Grandma's friends. Then we all heard the shouts and surprised screams When Hector and Silvio grabbed the thieves as they burst out of the house to get away from the stench.

In the thrill of victory, Grandma and the neighbors burst out laughing and shouting. Some of them even started dancing around, doing what looked like a dosey doe. I have never seen any of these people so excited, or spry, may I add.

Ranger had turned back to the monitors and was talking to Woody and whoever else he was connected to. Now that the thieves had been apprehended and caught with the goods, there was evidence enough to turn them over to the police. There might be some little jurisdiction issues, since the thefts had been done in Trenton, and the apprehension was in Newark, but that was a small detail that no one seemed to care about.

The party moved inside and Grandma had a great time recounting every detail. Operation catch the pirates had been a huge success. But I was worried what was going to happen when they all realized that while the thieves had been caught, the boxes they had stolen this time had been the decoys. No one had said anything yet, about recovering the stuff that had been stolen before. And that is what I would have been most interested in myself.

When Ranger joined me, he pulled me aside, and proceeded to answer the questions I had just been thinking about. "The police are not there yet, but the pirates are subdued and Hector has done a quick run through of the house. He found a room filled with lots of merchandise," he said.

"That's great," I said, my excitement must have shown in my eyes, because he put his hand on my shoulder, which effectively clogged my brain and stopped whatever it was I was going to say next.

"We will need a complete list of everything that was stolen," he said. "That could take some time, since a lot of what was taken were gifts, and no one knew exactly what had been delivered."

I nodded slowly, he was right, but if I knew my grandmother, and her friends, they would contact the senders of those packages and would have that list before anyone could blink an eye. They were a determined bunch of people, and I was pretty sure that they wouldn't let anything stop them now.

Almost immediately, Eddie Gazzara and his new partner pulled up at the curb. I looked at Ranger, he had called in the police, did that mean that his involvement was over now? My heart dropped, he was going to pack up and leave as soon as he gave his statement to Eddie. Just the thought of seeing him go made me want to cry.

It had been a long time since Ranger and I had seen each other much. The flirting was not the only thing that I had missed. But make no mistake about it, I really loved the way Ranger flirts. Its just that he was my friend. Yeah, I would love it to be a whole lot more than that, but I cherish his friendship and I've really missed him. So much.

Five months ago, Ranger had been gone in the wind somewhere. I always get worried about him when he is gone. Looking at Ranger, standing with Eddie by the SUV, it hit me. I had been scared that something bad had happened to him, so scared I had made a trip out to RangeMan to talk to Tank.

While Tank could not assure me that Ranger was perfectly fine, the fact that Ranger had made his scheduled check ins when he was supposed to, meant that he was not dead. A fact that left me more than a bit relieved.

Joe had confronted me that night. Of course, someone had seen me and it got back to Joe that I had been at RangeMan. He hated that, he had even tried to forbid me from having anything to do with Ranger more than one time. That had never gone down too well with me, and we'd fight over it.

I should have made this connection before, the realization washed over me, heating me through even as I stood in the drizzle watching Ranger. Most of the fights I'd had with Joe centered on my friendship with Ranger. I would not give it up, not for Joe, not for anyone. Heat rose to my cheeks, making them burn.

For so long I had been fighting _about_ Ranger. How had it never occurred that what I should be doing was fighting _for_ him. He was turning to leave, his involvement with this was over. But I was not done, not by a long shot.

"Ranger," I called out as I rushed over to him. He waved to Woody, indicating that he was free to go, and he turned to me. Suddenly, I had no idea what to say. 'Don't leave me', came to mind, but it sounded too desperate. 'Do you want to grab some lunch' sounded equally lame, as it was only ten o'clock in the morning. What could I say to let him know that he meant more to me than anything in the world? That I wanted to be in his life, that I couldn't live without him in mind.

My eyes felt wet, as tears of frustration and yes, desperation filled them. I looked down, all I needed to do now was have him see me crying. No, not going to happen. I took a deep breath and raised my head to face him. Somehow I was going to let him know how I felt.

When our eyes met, that familiar jolt, that thrill, that just being near him brought, zinged through me. But before I could say a single word, he reached his hand out to me.

"Babe," he said. And I knew that, in his single word, he was saying he knew. He knew and he felt the same. I let him pull me into his arms, and I wrapped my arms around his waist as he held me close.

I was glad that we had had this little talk.


	7. Epilogue

Epilogue

Hector came back to the burg to put the final touches on his surveillance equipment. On every property he also placed a small square sign with the RangeMan logo on it, that announced that these homes were protected. He had installed small, but very noticeable cameras on every porch, and Ranger had agreed to form a neighborhood watch program for the residents in the two block radius around my parents home.

He called it a pilot program for future services that might be offered by RangeMan, so there was no cost involved for any of the residents. "No more porch pirates!" Grandma had shouted out when she heard the news. That had earned a smile from Ranger. And the truth was, Grandma was grateful, she and her friends were so relieved that they were no longer targets for porch thefts.

They were right, since that first apprehension in Newark, there had been reports of increased awareness that had resulted in more arrests in neighborhoods all over the city. For the most part, Trenton, and even Newark were free from any more visits from porch pirates.

It is still raining. It looks pretty from Ranger's seventh floor apartment window. The city below is sleeping peacefully. At least it looks peaceful from up here. Its Christmas eve, and the world is full of hopes and wishes.

Ranger's arms snake around my waist and he pulls me close to him. I don't have to say anything for him to know how happy I am. All of my dreams have come true. I laugh to myself, our brand of communication may not be usual, but it sure works for us.

It's okay, we did have talks, with actual words, and finding out that we have been thinking the same things for so long made us realize that we have wasted too much time. It kept us apart and unhappy. We won't let that happen again.

I have to say that the holidays sure have been crazy this year, more than usual, and I will never forget them. I turn around in Ranger's arms. His eyes look into mine as my lips find his. We don't need the mistletoe that Ella hung over the door to remind us to steal kisses from each other, and I my eyes drift shut as I enjoy the incredible things that his kisses do to me.

Funny how things work out, I mused. While Grandma had us busy catching porch pirates, I was lucky enough to finally caught a thief of my own, the one who stole my heart the first time I met him years ago. Its about time, I tell myself. And I have no intention of ever letting him go.

I feel Ranger pulling away and I open my eyes to see him smiling at me.

"Babe," he says. And that said it all.

.oOo.


End file.
